Anthony Crolla lost his British lightweight title in a huge upset tonight when he was stopped in the sixth round by Liverpudlian Derry Mathews in what the old-timers used to call a ‘nobbins’ fight at the Sports Centre in Oldham, UK.

Crolla, 23-3, 10 KO’s, controlled the fight from the first bell, and Mathews was beaten to the punch in the first two rounds by his quicker and stronger adversary. Then, out of the blue in the third, Mathews threw out a speculative right, and dumped Crolla on the seat of his pants. The champion was up at eight, but unsteady on his feet. By the end of the round he’d resumed a measure of control, but now the fight was a see-saw affair.

Matters worsened for Crolla in the fourth when he was cut beside the left eye, causing referee John Keane to take a couple of looks, and Matthews was now landing at will as Crolla tried to bull forward. Crolla appeared to be slowly wearing his man down in the fifth and in the early part of the sixth, but then another Mathews right caught Crolla on the point of the chin, sending him staggering backwards and Keane had seen enough and called it off.

It was a massive setback for Crolla who’d been touted for big things in the future. Mathews, now 30-6, 16 KO’s suddenly finds himself a key player in a crowded lightweight division this side of the Atlantic.

On the undercard there was another minor upset when Jon-Lewis Dickinson, 11-2, 3 KO’s, readily outpointed fellow cruiserweight prospect Matty Askin, 13-1, 9 KO’s. In the fight Askin seemed strangely subdued, and Dickinson continually beat him to the punch, so that he ran out a wide winner on all three cards, 98-93, 97-93, 97-93.

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The 28-year-old Burns has risen rapidly from journeyman status to world class since upsetting the odds and taking the WBO’s super featherweight title from Roman Martinez back in 2010. His last win in November 2011 saw him decision tough Australian, Michael Katsidis, in a highly creditable performance which saw him pocket one of the WBO’s ridiculous “interim” titles. Shortly after that win, the organisation granted him the “full” gong after Juan Manuel Marquez moved out of the 135-pound division. Hence, Burns finds himself defending a title he’s never actually won.

That will matter little to his home crowd who will stack out the Braehead Arena and make it a hot night for former world champion Moses, the Namibian police officer with a solid record (28 wins, 19 inside distance, and only one loss). The 33-year-old took the WBA lightweight title from Yusuki Kobore by decision back in 2009 and defended that title once before coming unstuck against Miguel Acosta in May 2010, surrendering his title by 6th round stoppage. Moses has reeled off three victories since, against limited opposition, but looks a decent test for Burns, who has one eye on a summer block-buster with Englishman Kevin Mitchell should he come through, title intact.

Moses’ Namibian trainer, Nestor Tobias, reckons his man has all the tools to thwart Burns’ plans.

“I’ve watched Ricky’s fights with Roman Martinez, the Ghanaian [Joseph Laryea] and Michael Katsidis. He works very hard, is very busy but I’ve seen nothing that I’ll not sleep well over. Paulus has more speed and is more mature in his boxing ability. Clearly he also has more punching power. It will be a good fight and we have trained for distance. Points or knockout, we will come out on top.”

Burns, meanwhile, insists that he won’t hang up his gloves until he’s fought 100 times. At 28 and after ten years as a professional, he’s only managed 35 contests, so he will have to get a move on if he’s to realize his ambition. He sees Moses as a legitimate threat, telling Scottish newspaper The Daily Record:

“I love fighting so much. I have a good defence and as long as I’m not getting hurt I’m going to continue until I’ve had 100 fights. Others think I’m nuts but it’s all I want to do. I have to get this one out of the way. I just love fighting and the better the opponent the more I love it. I’ve always said since I started boxing at 12 that I’ll fight anyone. The only way to be the greatest is to beat the best around. This is a proper world title fight.”

Moses will be boxing in front of a rabid Scottish crowd and his forays outside his native Namibia and South Africa have been few and far between. Burns has the form and the home advantage and whilst he’s often felt to be a light puncher, he looked strong and powerful at 135 pounds against Katsidis, so I expect him to take a wide and unanimous verdict from Moses, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he managed to overwhelm the Namibian inside distance.

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A native of Uganda, now fighting out of Las Vegas, Bogere is ranked 20^th in the world among lightweights.  He’s stayed busy in the ring, averaging five fights a year since 2008.  He has knockout wins in three of his last five bouts, and he most recently scored a KO over Francisco Contreras in his first defense of a minor title.

At thirty years of age, Rivera is seven years his opponent’s senior.  He is a veteran southpaw coming off three consecutive losses.  His last victory came in June 2010 against Cesar Soto, who was 62-19 at the time, where he walked away with a majority decision win.

This bout will be on the undercard of the main event that will feature Devon Alexander vs. Marcos Maidana and co-feature Adrien Broner vs. Eloy Perez (both of which will be aired on HBO’s Boxing After Dark at 10pm ET/PT).

Rios-Gamboa, reported as a done deal by spokespeople from both camps, will be for the vacant WBA lightweight title– a title recently stripped from Juan Manuel Marquez.

Rios previously held a lesser version of the title that he was forced to vacate due to weight issues before his December 3rd bout with Brit, John Murray. The resident of Oxnard, California burst upon the world scene in 2010 with a dominant DQ 7 win over Anthony Peterson. Since then, the colorful, all-action “Bam Bam” has stopped each of his next four opponents– Omri Lowther (TKO 5), Miguel Acosta (TKO 10) , Urbano Antillon (KO 3), and John Murray (TKO 11).

Gamboa, a Cuban Olympic Gold Medalist and one of the sport’s most talented fighters, will be moving up two full weight classes to take the high profile HBO bout. In his last several contests, Gamboa has scored dominant victories over Daniel Ponce de Leon (TD 8), Jorge Solis (TKO 4), and Orlando Salido (UD 12).

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At twenty-seven years of age, Mitchell is currently ranked 6^th in the world among lightweights.  His only loss came nearly two years ago against Michael Katsidis when the bout was halted in the third round resulting in a TKO loss.  Mitchell’s last fight was against fellow Brit, John Murray.  In the eighth round, Murray suffered a knockdown and was able to beat the count, but within seconds the referee called a halt to the bout as Murray stood in the ring unable to trade blows.

Mitchell’s TKO win over Murray was essential to the fighter’s future.  Speaking to BoxNation, Mitchell discussed his plans.

“This is the first time since the Michael Katsidis fight in 2010 that I’ve fought in London and I’ve had a cracking win against Murray in Manchester so this will be a nice homecoming for me.  A fight with Burns is a massive incentive to make sure I’m looking at my best on the night and it’s a fight I’d love to have next.”

On Friday, the man across the ring from Mitchell will be Dominican Republican Felix Lora.  Lora began his professional career in 2003 and has recorded almost as many losses/draws as he has wins.  Lora went 1-2 in 2011 with the win coming by TKO and both losses by unanimous decision.  Although this will be his first bout in England, Lora is no stranger to traveling as he’s only fought once in his home country.

The fight card will also feature Frank Buglioni vs. Ryan Clark in the super middleweight division and Bradley Saunders vs. Jason Nesbitt at light welterweight.  The event will be hosted at York Hall in London, England.

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Using a unique formulaic criteria based on activity and level of opposition within a fighter’s own division, The Boxing Tribune stands firmly behind it’s world rankings and hopes that others will use them as a standard of fairness in the sport.

Here’s a closer look at the Lightweight Division (135 lbs.) :

Division Overview: While Juan Manuel Marquez sits firmly at the top of the division, there is general parity below him with the number 2 through 13 spots very closely bunched together in the rankings.

Below that, numbers 14 through 19 are also tightly bunched with not much room between ranking spots.

The lightweight division is clearly a division in flux and, with a 37 year old veteran at the top, anyone from 2 through 19 could make a run at Marquez’s throne.

Below the 20th spot: Jorge Linares made his lightweight debut against Rocky Juarez and if he decides to stay at 135, he will definitely make an impact in the division…Rolando Reyes, if he gets active again, can make waves…Young, tough challengers like John Molina, Henry Lundy, Mercito Gesta, and Sharif Bogere await their chance to pounce on some of the division’s veterans…Tough gatekeepers like Edner Cherry, Richard Abril, and Takehiro Shimada still roam the division and are tough enough to occasionally surprise.

The Lightweight Top 20:

1) Juan Manuel Marquez: 51-5-1 (37 KO) (WBO, WBA Champ)
Quick Note: Nobody’s even close to claiming JMM’s top spot, but his November 27th bout with Michael Katsidis could definitely shake up the division

2) Miguel Acosta: 27-3-2 (21 KO)
Quick Note: With an extremely slight statistical lead on Katsidis, Acosta rests on recent back to back victories over ranked lightweights Paulus Moses and Urbano Antillon.

3) Micheal Katsidis: 27-2 (22 KO)
Quick Note: After back to back losses to Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz in 2008, Katsidis has built his momentum back up, recently scoring impressive back to back wins over Vicente Escobedo and Kevin Mitchell.

4) Humberto Soto: 53-7-2 (32 KO) (WBC Champ)
Quick Notes: With a win over David Diaz and two other marginal victories, Soto’s spot is not very secure and the division’s young lions all seem ready to pounce on the skilled, but smallish Soto.

5) John Murray: 29-0 (17 KO)
Quick Notes: Only really tested at the regional/UK level, Murray has remained active and undefeated yet is not set to test his skills on the world stage any time soon.

6) Vicente Escobedo: 22-2 (14 KO)
Quick Notes: Scored two dominant wins over veterans Kevin Kelley and Carlos Hernandez in 2009, but also dropped a split decision to Michael Katsidis. Escobedo is set to face his toughest challenge on November 6th against Robert Guerrero.

7) Joan Guzman: 30-0-1 (17 KO)
Quick Notes: Can he even make 135 anymore? A win over ranked Ameth Diaz and a controversial draw against highly-ranked (at the time), Ali Funeka, earned him this spot, but per Boxing Tribune Rankings rules, he is one week from being eliminated from this list due to divisional inactivity.

8.) Urbano Antillon: 28-1 (20 KO)
Quick Notes: Strong and tough, Antillon has been getting busted up and taken to the edge by inferior-level opposition since his loss to Miguel Acosta. He’s rumored to be facing Brandon Rios next. Will he have enough to keep his spot in the top 10?

9) Brandon Rios: 25-0-1 (18 KO)
Quick Notes: “Bam Bam” impressed the world with his beating of well-regarded fellow prospect, Anthony Peterson. Now, he may be set to face Urbano Antillon and a win could propel him into the top 3.

10) Miguel Vazquez: 26-3 (12 KO) (IBF Champ)
Quick Notes: Talented boxer with a unanimous decision victory over tough Korean Ji-Hoon Kim and a non-lightweight win over Breidis Prescott.

11) Juan Diaz: 35-4 (17 KO)
Quick Notes:Fading fast, but still in the mix based on past glories.

12) Kevin Mitchell: 31-1 (23 KO)
Quick Notes: Rebuilding after being demolished by Michael Katsidis. Holds dominant UD win over Breidis Prescott.

13) Ali Funeka: 30-3-3 (25 KO)
Quick Notes: Tough luck former champ who has had controversy surround each blemish on his record.

14) Breidis Prescott: 23-2 (19 KO)
Quick Notes: Still coasting off his Amir Khan demolition, but will be bumped from the lightweight rankings inside of 60-days due to divisional inactivity.

15) Ji Hoon Kim: 21-6 (18 KO)
Quick Notes:Tough pressure fighter with solid resume, just got beat for the IBF title by Miguel Vazquez.

16) Paulus Moses: 25-1 (17 KO)
Quick Notes: Well-traveled lightweight with solid international record, just lost to Miguel Acosta

17) Antonio DeMarco: 24-2-1 (18 KO)
Quick Notes: Following a tough loss to the late Edwin Valero, DeMarco is in rebuilding mode.

18) Anthony Peterson: 30-1 (20 KO)
Quick Notes: Talented and favored to beat Brandon Rios, suffered a mental collapse that lead to en embarrassing DQ.

19) Robert Guerrero: 27-1-1 (18 KO)
Quick Notes: Maybe the most gifted lightweight in the world, but The Boxing Tribune World Rankings are earned and Guerrero’s one win at 135 only bags him a token 19th ranking. A win over Vicente Escobedo on November 6th will push him up to a higher spot.

20) David Diaz: 35-3-1 (17 KO)
Quick Notes: Former world champ on the way out. His hold on the 20th spot is tenuous, at best.

Take a Look at the Complete World Rankings HERE

In a month with a Klitschko-Peter title fight, the Mosley-Mora pay-per-view, Mexican Independence Day cards, and some damn fine European action, the best fight of the month is getting literally zero press.

September 11th, on the Yuriorkis Gamboa-Orlando Salido HBO  undercard, Anthony Peterson (30-0, 20 KOs) takes on Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios (24-0-1, 18 KOs) in a can’t miss action fight.

Forget that this is officially a WBA eliminator for a shot at their version of the lightweight title. This is the type of bout that boxing fans always claim to lust after. It’s a battle between two talented and hungry twenty-somethings on the way up. Both undefeated and fresh, neither Peterson nor Rios know how to lose. Defeat is, literally, not an option for these two fighters and they both carry themselves accordingly, with the youthful bluster of  self-confidence.

Consider it East vs. West as Rios’ West Coast hunt and attack style meets Peterson’s smooth and fluid East Coast groove. Both fighters have legitimate main stage skill and, to add intrigue, both also have legit one-punch power.

Peterson, born and raised on the streets of Washington DC, has long been regarded as one of boxing’s best young talents. A contemporary of Andre Ward and Andre Berto, the 25-year old talent is poised to step out of the shadow of non-televised undercards and questionable match-ups on third-rate TV networks. Along with his older brother, Lamont, Peterson is ready, willing, and able to leap into the spotlight and steal the show on September 11th.

For Peterson, a young fighter who has risen from homeless shelters and nights of fitful slumber at Greyhound bus stations, success is never taken for granted. He’s hungry, motivated and ready to write the next chapter of his already incredible Cinderella story.

Rios, on the other hand, has enjoyed a higher profile in the boxing rich state of California. The Lubbock, TX born, Oxnard, California resident, like Peterson, was a highly decorated amateur star with an amazing record of 230-35 and a reputation as a “can’t miss” prospect. Now, six years into his career, “Bam Bam” is on the verge of breaking through to that next level and September 11th’s bout for a shot at the WBA strap is his ticket to a better life.

In the ring, Rios is a heat seeking missile with equal parts precision, aggression, and class. His lone setback was a lackluster draw with Manuel Perez in 2008 that was brutally avenged via TKO 7 one year later. Since that draw, Rios is 6-0 with 6 KOs.

Both notorious gym rats, Rios and Peterson are in their physical primes, motivated, in shape and meeting at the same level in their careers. Both decorated amateur stars and undefeated pros, they need this win and there’s no doubt that the end result of this match-up will be something truly compelling.

Apologies to Juan Manuel Marquez, Michael Katsidis and Humberto Soto, but this September 11th showdown could very well be considered a clash between the lightweight division’s two best fighters.

Kudos to Top Rank for making this kind of intriguing and risky bout.

Shame on those who choose to ignore it.